Temple University Athletics
MEN'S BASKETBALL BLASTS THE BONNIES AS ALEX WESBY SURPASSES 1,000 CAREER POINTS
2.1.03 | Men's Basketball
Five Owls registered double-digit scoring totals, not including leading scorer David Hawkins, who finished with nine points. Wesby deposited 23 points as Maurice Collins and Brian Polk added 15, Antywane Robinson 13 and Keith Butler a career-high 11. Robinson also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds to post his second double-double of the season. The last time Temple had five players in double figures was in a 75-71 win over the Bonnies last February at the Liacouras Center.
Temple led from the opening tip to the final buzzer, jumping out to a double-digit lead less than five minutes into the game on a pair of Butler free throws to take a 18-7 advantage. A Butler layup with 11:53 to go before the break ran Temple's lead to 18 points, its largest of the opening stanza as the scoreboard read 28-10. The Bonnies reduced the discrepancy to six points when a Marques Green three-pointer registered a 38-32 score with 6:34 on the clock. Temple, however, finished strong prior to the intermission, scoring the final nine points to take a 51-34 advantage into the locker room.
After the break, the Owls quickly dashed any hopes the Bonnies had of a comeback, scoring seven of the first nine points to take a 58-36 lead with 17:33 remaining. The Cherry & White proceeded to establish a 32-point buffer, its largest of the game, on a Glen Elliot layup with 8:53 remaining and the scoreboard reading 76-44. Joe Shepherd hit three free throws with 0:13 seconds remaining, after being fouled taking a three-pointer, to register the 96-77 final and to dip TU's lead to under 20 points for the first time in over ten minutes on the game clock.
Temple's 96-point scoring output was its most since a 98-67 victory at George Washington on March 4, 2000. The victory over the Bonnies also snapped a string of nine consecutive losses on ESPN2. The last time Temple won on the deuce was February 1, 2000, when it defeated Massachusetts 75-48 at the Mullins Center.
Temple, having won three of its last four games and two straight on the road, returns to the hardwood in a 12:00 noon contest at UMass next Saturday, February 8. The contest will be televised nationally on ESPN.
